The present invention relates to a shoe sole cleaner comprising a power section and a brush section which is essentially planelike and which includes brush rods.
In wintertime, as well as in the damp spring and autumn weather, the problem both in private homes and in offices and large public facilities is that snow, sand and other such impurities are carried into the interior along with shoes, irrespective of the shoe cleaning devices placed at the doorstep. It has also been noticed that only a fraction of customers entering for instance shops bother to wipe their shoes to the doormat or the like.
In the prior art, the solving of this problem has been attempted for example by means of the shoe sole cleaning machine introduced in the Finnish Pat. No. 22604. This apparatus is formed of a box-like housing and several shoe brushes that are fitted therein and rotate around their axes. The brushes are connected to an electric motor, and they are switched to operation every time the housing is stepped on. In addition to this, the apparatus comprises a vacuum cleaner, which is switched to operation simultaneously with the brushes. The purpose of the vacuum cleaner is to remove the dirt which is gathered inside the apparatus, so that for instance the brushes would not unnecessarily whip dust into the air.
The apparatus is practicable only in facilities which are originally planned for its use and application. It must be fitted, together with the machinery, into the floor construction, and its outer dimensions are determined according to the specific location where it is used. The dust container of the apparatus is an unnecessary auxiliary device, which unreasonably increases the cost of the whole apparatus-- although it cannot suck the litter and sand collected into the box placed under the brushes, but only the finely powdered dust. The aforementioned drawback is caused by the air leakages through the brush intervals, which effectively prevent the creation of sufficient suction.
The Norwegian Pat. No. 96305 also introduces a shoe cleaning machine, where an electric motor rotates a brush belt. The belt cleans the shoes of anyone stepping on the apparatus. Under the apparatus there is arranged either a removable, drainable through or a separate conveyor which carries the sand and litter away. It is apparent that this apparatus is, like the ones above, fitted into the floor construction and thus meant to be installed already at the building stage. Therefore this kind of apparatus is not suited for replacing an ordinary doormat as later installation.
The shoe sole cleaner introduced in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,052 is likewise meant to be installed at a recess arranged in the building already at the building stage. In this apparatus, too, the cleaning of shoe soles is carried out by aid of a rotating brush belt. Similar cleaning apparatuses are introduced for instance in the Swedish Pat. No. 48271 and in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,060.
A corresponding shoe sole cleaner, but provided with a different brush arrangement, is introduced in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,238. In this apparatus, separate brushes sweep to and from by intermediation of a complicated leverage. This apparatus is likewise meant to be installed in a recess.
In the apparatus introduced in the German Pat. No. 482221, the brushes move back and forth for example by means of a crank lever mechanism coupled to an electric motor. In other respects, the apparatus is also designed for installation in a recess.
As it is apparent from the above description of the prior art, there does not exist a previously designed shoe sole cleaner which would be suited for almost all possible facilities as a later installation, but nearly all of the specified apparatuses need a relatively spacious recess which is arranged for instance in the hall floor, into which recess the apparatus can be fitted. However, there exist a noteworthy demand for increasing the general standard of housing and cozy comfort afterwards, which cannot be met by means of the above described arrangements.